J. Douglas Minor '92, one of the founding members of the fraternity, says that the focus of the Alphas is not social but that they are rather community service and leadership oriented.

Minor cites fellow Alpha Phi Alpha brothers, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois, Jesse Owens, New York Mayor David Dinkins, and Harvard Foundation Chair S. Allen Counter.

"Our focus is the uplift of the Black community," Minor says. "You're singled out to uplift the community from which you came."

Similarly, the Kappas date their organization from 1911 and have had an active presence on campus since 1982, with about eight undergraduates in their ranks currently.

E. Michael Bobbit '91-'92, the director of the Kappas national service program which focuses on mentoring Black youths, says his fraternity's purpose is "do things by the highest standards."

Of course, the Black fraternities do have a social component to their activities, and at the same time the other five fraternities claim to do community service as well.

Many are involved in tutoring and mentoring programs, fundraisers, recycling programs, aid to the homeless and other community service activities.

Targets of Criticism

With their all-male status, fraternities on campus cannot avoid the comparison with the nine all-male final clubs.

Despite the obvious differences in wealth, age and institutionalization, fraternities are targeted by critics for their exclusive nature.

"Fraternities are still selective. The criteria for selection may be different [from the final clubs] but they are still restricted membership groups," says Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57.

But Taxin rejects the accusation that fraternities are elitist.

"I have a hard time taking the elitist argument when we're all here at Harvard, which is most definitely an elitist institution," he says.

A member of Zeta Psi, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also emphasized the difference between fraternities and final clubs.

"We are not a final club. We're not exclusive or elitist. The policies used by final clubs in selecting people are elitist," he says.